# Removing hair from my face makes me break out!



## CoverGirl

Like a lot of girls I have some hair on my upper lip, chin, &amp; also some around my brows/side burn area. I also have a little hair on my cheeks, but I don't think anyone can see it unless I'm in the sun. It seems like any hair removal method on my face makes me break out! I don't know what to do. I tried putting on witch hazel after removing hair, but it didn't work.


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## esha

when they thread, they usually put baby powder but i don't think that does anything to help the breakouts. If you've waxed it could possibly be the wax? Try an all natural wax or something if they have that.

I mean if worst came to worst you could bleach but I know it's not all that good for your skin.


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## StereoXGirl

It could be irritation or ingrown hairs...maybe a dermatologist could give you an idea of some good products to use to lessen the irritation for after you remove the hair.

Or maybe you could try an aftershave of some kind? That might help.


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## CoverGirl

My skin sometimes gets a little irritated by bleach, but if memory serves correct, it doesn't really make me break out. Waxing, threading, plucking, etc, all make me break out though. It's not just ingrown hairs or irritation unfortunately. I'll try an all natural wax.




I have previously used wax for sensitive skin, which didn't work any better, but I don't know if it was all natural or not. I appreciate the feedback! I didn't expect anyone to reply that quickly.



Thank you both very much!


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## Dragonfly

Do you use any medication on your face, where you remove the hairs?

I'm thinking Retin A or benzoil peroxide - something like that.

I read that shaving the hair is much better than plucking- for the surrounding skin. If I come across a source, I'll edit this post and include it.

You might consider making a paste with an aspirin and a bit of water. Then applying it where ever you plucked. It will help prevent a breakout and it will also be soothing to the skin.


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## Harlot

Man, I never heard of that. Most likely its irritation being caused thats having that effect. Its wierd cause I have no hairs but I have a shadow like if I should have them on my upper lip  I might bleach that skin or something cause I have to use concealer to hide it &gt;.&lt; it sucks! And even then it still kinda show, wtf.


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## CoverGirl

Originally Posted by *Harlot* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man, I never heard of that. Most likely its irritation being caused thats having that effect. *Its wierd cause I have no hairs but I have a shadow like if I should have them on my upper lip*  I might bleach that skin or something cause I have to use concealer to hide it &gt;.&lt; it sucks! And even then it still kinda show, wtf. Me too! Once one of my friends mentioned my upper lip. I was so embarrassed. I always remove the hair that I do have, but there is still a shadow there! I guess my skin isn't even or something. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one that has this problem! Even when my skin was flawless, I always had to have some coverup on my upper lip. 
Thanks for the advice Carolyn! I did actually shave my face before, which I was strongly advised not to do by a couple people. I'm afraid of the hair growing back thicker, so I recently stopped that. I'm not even sure if it's better for my skin or not either.


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## bronze_chiqz

I would not try to wax /remove facial hair.I did once and it caused me terrible breakouts.My derm told me that these facial hairs will act as protectant for certain skin.Well, in my case, my furr is tad obvious, i'll bleach with Jolen or FEM bleach once a month.Upper lip i'll do threading.


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## Jinx

Originally Posted by *Harlot* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man, I never heard of that. Most likely its irritation being caused thats having that effect. Its wierd cause I have no hairs but I have a shadow like if I should have them on my upper lip  I might bleach that skin or something cause I have to use concealer to hide it &gt;.&lt; it sucks! And even then it still kinda show, wtf. There is a vein that runs over the upper that for some women, shows through the skin and looks like a 'stashe shadow- bleaching won't help.Also, some women have a darker pigment in the area around the lower jawline and around the chin; it's not hair at all but I am not sure skin bleaching woul help in that case either; I've heard that the darker pigmented skin could actually go darker.

CG, I get some irritation from plucking (I don't wax anymore- just pluck), it is actual white head pimples where I've plucked.

There really isn't anyway around it I don't think, the skin is irritated and just plain reacts.


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## Bec688

The reason baby powder is used before waxing is so the wax won't stick to the skin, just the hairs.

What are you using to remove your facial hair? Waxing? Or depillatory cream? It's normal to have a little redness after waxing though it should go away within a few hours. Depillatory creams are different, they are very well known for causing break outs. In my opinion, they can be pretty dangerous. It's a very harsh chemical (hey, it dissolves the hair!) and it can reak havoc on those with sensitive skin, or on such sensitive areas.


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## AprilDancer

I have problems with that, too. I have my upper lip, chin and eyebrows waxed (yeah, I am hairy, so what! LOL) I use a toner for two days after. I use the milder one by Clinique, I think it is the salicylic acid that helps me. I will do a mild scrub if it looks like pimples are trying to form. I use either the white scrub from Dermalogica or the liquid Clinique one. I think mine might be from ingrown hairs, since it often takes 2 to 4 days.


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## purpleRain

Yeah sometimes when I plucked I get a little zit, that's just irritation.

I minimize it to do it on clean skin, NO bathing before you go plucking and do the pluck fast. And I don't do lots of parts all at once.

I did notice that you can get very light brown pigmentation if you pluck a lot if you are sensitive to this. I don't know how that can happen but I think it can.

My favourite methode, besides you pluck a few hairs, is bleach with a gentle bleaching product especially for your face.


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## tijana333

Hi. Maybe I can help. I have a same problem and what I do is clean my face with anti blemish cleanser after waxing and after that I apply tea tree oil on affected area. Also what can help is some anti blemish lotion. After I put on tea tree oil I put The Body Shop blemish stick (you can use other brands too). I also use tea tree oil for next day or two before moisturizer on affected area like serum. This oil is well known for killing bacteria and treating skin irritation. If I don't do this I also end up with breakouts. I hope this helps. (this was my first post here



)


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## chocobon

What works for me is after I go for threading, I slather my face with a cortisone cream for about 10min and all the redness and irritation disappears!!


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## pretty_pink13

I get that a lot, almost every time I get my eyebrows waxed, these little tiny whiteheads form all over the area that has been waxed. Im not sure how to get rid of them, but I feel your pain! And I usually get my eyebrows waxed every 2 weeks because of my crazy growth and every time, I get those little whiteheads.


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## Darla

well i can speak to that one from experience Carolyn. shaving the face can be very irritating to the skin. its especially bad if you try and shave too close, the blade is dull or you don't use enough lubricant (shaving cream or gel) . then it is real easy to get ingrown hairs which undoubtedly leave a red bump.

i try to use an electric foil shaver instead (Remington), but i think i have tried most of the brands and types at one type of another.


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## Anthea

If its a long term problem for you and if you can afford it then you might want to consider laser?

Me being male I have very course hairs on my face and I have had my face lasered 6 times. The treatment does hurt and I am sure as your hair growth is nowhere near as bad as mine you would not need nearly as many treatments as me. BTW I still need more treatments but my face is a lot less hairy than before.


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## MorrisonsMaenad

saaaame here! I think the only other option (if you facial hair is just baby hair) is bleaching your facial hair...get it done professionally, it'll just look like peach fuzz


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## magosienne

Originally Posted by *tijana333* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi. Maybe I can help. I have a same problem and what I do is clean my face with anti blemish cleanser after waxing and after that I apply tea tree oil on affected area. Also what can help is some anti blemish lotion. After I put on tea tree oil I put The Body Shop blemish stick (you can use other brands too). I also use tea tree oil for next day or two before moisturizer on affected area like serum. This oil is well known for killing bacteria and treating skin irritation. If I don't do this I also end up with breakouts. I hope this helps. (this was my first post here



) Welcome to MuT =)


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## MissManda

I once heard something about a prescription hair remover I think it was a poster at the gyno's office. Something Vanique or Vaniqua something like that. Maybe look into it. Here ya go its Vaniqa. Doesn't remove the hair but slows the growth so maybe you wont be waxing or plucking as much causing to much irritation. One breakout a month is better than 4 right?

Google Vaniqa and the website will pop up, since I cant post links yet.


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## hopeless novice

It is an infection of the follicles.I get it everytime I waxed, thread, etc. But electrolysis kills the follicles and it is permanent. You might want to look into that.

DO NOT DO LASER FOR YOUR FACE. Since you are a woman, the hair growth on your face is too fine that it can be even stimulated by the laser to grow coarse. I know from experience.


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## yourleoqueen

I use to break out from using a depilatory, but what I have found to stop that is ice. After I'm done I apply an ice pack to my face. 5 minutes per area where I'm most prone to breaking out. I do that off and on for a couple of hours and then use a little bit of coconut oil, no more breakouts. Also I don't wash my face the day I use the depilatory so that helps too. The next day I do a steam facial. HIH


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## CoverGirl

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I will try out your suggestions. Is electrolysis more expensive than laser hair removal? Since it's permanent, I'd love to get it done once I can afford it. I'm not good at tolerating pain though.


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## hopeless novice

Electrolysis costs about 1- 5 dollars a minutes depending on who you go to. You need repeated sessions so the costs do add up. But is worth more than laser. Be sure to pick the best electrolysis. Results depend on the equipment and the technique and skill of the of the electrologist. The best web site to do some research is Hairtell: Hair removal forum


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## fridaythe13th

you're def breaking out because you're not removing all the wax and it's clogging your pores and irritating your skin. i have the same issue, as do many girls, unless you do a really effective cleaning after the waxing. you need a clarisonic mia, or the olay one if you can't afford the mia, and then use an oil free salicylic acid cleanser over the waxed areas. don't worry it won't irriate your skin after the waxing. do a really good job cleaning w/the brush. i forgot to mention before cleansing use that oil provided w/the wax to help remove the excess wax. if the kit used doesn't come with one, go buy the wax remover. anyway after using the oil, use the clarisonic with cleanser and clean well. then use an exfoliating scrub. make sure before you wax your face is clean and dry as well or that'll make it worse. cleanse w/the brush once or twice more before bed and again in the morning, the afternoon and night. you need to clear out all the wax from your pores.


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## Pretty Kitty

The same thing happens to me. I have sensitive skin so it reacts every time I wax or tweeze. I have been using a depillatory cream though for a few years that seems to work pretty well for me, no problems with irritation or breakout. It is made by Sally Hansen and is very inexpensive.


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## CoverGirl

^ Really, what brand is it? For me it doesn't seem to matter whether I wax, tweeze, or thread, I end up getting little blemishes. I have tried a depilatory by Nair before, but that didn't work for me.

Thanks for the advice ladies! I really want to try electrolysis.


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## Pretty Kitty

I have tried Nair before too but it didn't work for me very well either. The brand I use is Sally Hansen... it's the "Creme Hair Remover For Face." It's the one with vitamin E in it. I usually apply a thick layer and wait approximately 2-3 minutes. Then I wipe a small area clean to see if all the hair comes off, if not I reapply to that area and wait another minute and try again. By then all the hair usually just wipes right off. I rinse the area with cool water and pat it dry with a clean towel. I don't use the after creme conditioner though that comes with it because that _does_ make me break out.


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## CoverGirl

lol I meant to ask which product in case Sally Hansen has different ones, not sure why on earth I said brand! haha Thanks for the tip Pretty Kitty!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Pretty Kitty

Your welcome CoverGirl... glad I could help


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## 13Bluestar97

That happens to me too. I have to pluck the hairs in between my eyebrows (unibrow XP) and that seems to be a hotspot for breakouts. Then again, it's in the T zone and I have combination skin. It annoys me and I always have to put concealer there.


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## HarleyGirl

I've enjoyed reading this thread as it is something I've been dealing with as well.  I used to be able to wax my face without incident and suddenly this is not longer the case.  It's amazing the extent to which the breakout goes!  I'm very curious to try the Sally Hansen product as I've just been too nervous to try Nair.  Thanks for all the information!!


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